Saturday, January 31, 2015

A “Gaff” or a “Gaffe” is a TRUTH said at the wrong time, or in the wrong place, or by the wrong person — This one by Vice President Joe Biden was all threeBiden: “Obama's Time in Office Has Been ‘Really, Really Hard' for America.... To state the obvious, the past six years have been really, really hard for this country.... And they've been really tough for our party. Just ask [former DCCC chair] Steve [Israel]. They've been really tough for our party. And together we made some really, really tough decisions -- decisions that weren't at all popular, hard to explain...." — [Biden was speaking at the House Democratic Caucus retreat in Philadelphia]

You can’t make this stuff up !

According to the You Tube text accompanying this video, Vice President Joseph Biden, the man who is a heartbeat away from the presidency, said this:
“Biden: Obama's Time in Office Has Been ‘Really, Really Hard' for America. Vice President Biden addressed House Democrats at the party’s retreat in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, told Democrats that, ‘To state the obvious, the past six years have been really, really hard for this country.’ *** ‘And they've been really tough for our party. Just ask [former DCCC chair] Steve [Israel]. They've been really tough for our party. And together we made some really, really tough decisions -- decisions that weren't at all popular, hard to explain,’ said Biden. *** Biden was speaking at the House Democratic Caucus retreat in Philadelphia. goprapidresponse video footage caught on tape cellphone camera surveillance raw dash cam air live on tv share comment like” (See “OOPS! Joe Biden Says 'The Past Six Years Have Been Really, Really Hard For This Country'” on You Tube [with video of VP’s remarks], 1/30/15, You Tube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H41EH89j8i8]).

Most of the right wing, conservative and Republican sources jumped all over this. Other sources raised their eyebrows as well.

Real Clear Politics thought it was important enough to put up Biden’s complete quote, which certainly is more in context – clearly all of it is Biden’s attempt to be conciliatory and laudatory to recently defeated Democrat Members of Congress and similarly unsuccessful congressional candidates of the recent past. However, even in this format, the quotes and the clip are equally or more devastating (See “Biden: The Past Six Years Have Been Really Hard For This Country’ ” by Real Clear Politics Video, 1/30/15, RCP/ Video [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/01/30/biden_the_past_six_years_have_been_really_hard_for_this_country.html]). The RCP text that accompanied their video is, as follows:
“VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: To state the obvious, the past six years have been really, really hard for this country. And they've been really tough for our party. Just ask [former DCCC chairman Rep. Steve Israel]. They've been really tough for our party. And together we made some really, really tough decisions -- decisions that weren't at all popular, hard to explain. Hard to communicate why it was so important, had to be made. And the decision had a high political cost, some of your friends and my friends aren't here today because they had the nerve to stand up and do what they thought was right.”

I know that somebody is going to use this clip for purposes that Joe Biden never intended. What I don’t know is whether Hillary Clinton will be one of the somebodies using it. — Think about it for a minute !

Friday, January 30, 2015

The tale of the tape — Now it’s Tripoli AND Benghazi AND the Libyan Desert AND.... The real Libya story is a growing problem for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — and it’s much bigger than the 9/11/12 Benghazi fiasco

I promised more about an aborted coup by some of America's generals and admirals — here’s a small part of the lead-up to itBTW — Just how many unnecessary wars did Hillary help drag the U.S.A. into ? — And was the disclosure of these “Libya Tapes” the real reason that Hillary pushed back her presidential campaign roll-out ?

Yesterday, Fox News reported that “Pentagon officials were so concerned with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's push in 2011 to back Libyan rebels against Muammar Qaddafi that they opened their own back-channels with Qaddafi to try and prevent the U.S. from entering the civil war, according to a report that cited newly uncovered audio tapes....” ( See “Report: Pentagon officials opened back-channels with Qaddafi regime to slow Clinton push into war” by Fox News Staff, 1/29/15, Fox News/ Pentagon [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/01/29/report-pentagon-officials-opened-secret-talks-with-qaddafi-regime-to-slow/]).

SOME IN THE U.S. MILITARY WERE WORRIED THAT SOS HILLARY CLINTON WAS PUSHING US INTO AN UNNECESSARY WAR IN LIBYA

According to that report, “Pentagon officials used an intelligence "liaison" to communicate with Qaddafi's son and a top Libyan leader outside of White House or State Department knowledge. A senior Democratic congressman also reportedly was involved.... That unnamed intermediary, who is referred to as an intelligence ‘asset’ working for the Pentagon, not only conducted the conversations with Qaddafi's son, but reportedly shared his concern that Clinton was unnecessarily hyping the danger of a potential genocide by the regime as a way to drag Congress into and shift public opinion in favor of an invasion....”

LIBYANS COMPARED HILLARY’S FALSE JUSTIFICATION TO LAUNCH A WAR AGAINST LIBYA TO WHAT GEORGE W. BUSH DID IN IRAQ

According to the WT report, there were tapes, which were reviewed by that paper and authenticated by the participants in the conversations recorded. And those tapes chronicled some U.S. officials’ unfiltered conversations with Colonel Moammar Qaddafi’s son and a top Libyan leader, including criticisms by all involved, that Secretary Clinton had developed tunnel vision and led the U.S. into an unnecessary war without adequately weighing the intelligence community’s concerns (See “Exclusive: Secret tapes undermine Hillary Clinton on Libyan war – Joint Chiefs, key lawmaker held own talks with Moammar [Qaddafi]regime” by Jeffrey Scott Shapiro & Kelly Riddell, 1/28/15, The Washington Times [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/28/hillary-clinton-undercut-on-libya-war-by-pentagon-/][@washtimes on Twitter]). Seif Qaddafi, told American officials in the secret conversations that he was worried Mrs. Clinton was using false pretenses to justify unseating his father and insisted that the regime had no intention of harming a mass of civilians. He compared Mrs. Clinton’s campaign for war to that of the George W. Bush administration’s now debunked weapons of mass destruction accusations, which were used to lobby Congress to invade Iraq, the tapes show.

According to the Washington Times, a spokesman for Mrs. Clinton declined to provide any comment about the recordings; and the State Department also declined to answer questions about separate contacts from the Pentagon and a senior Democratic Party Congressman with the Qaddafi regime, but did say that the goal of Secretary Clinton and President Obama was regime change in Libya

The secretly recorded conversations reveal an extraordinary departure from traditional policy, in which the U.S. government speaks with one voice to foreign governments with all communications coordinated by the State Department. Instead, these tapes show that the Pentagon’s senior uniformed leadership and a congressman from Mrs. Clinton’s own party conveyed sentiments to the Libyan regime that undercut or conflicted with the Secretary of State’s own message at the time.

DEMOCRAT CONGRESSMAN HAD BACK-CHANNEL TALKS WITH LIBYANS TO GET ACCURATE INFORMATION — HIS FINDINGS WERE IGNORED BY BOTH THE STATE DEPARTMENT AND THE WHITE HOUSE

A senior Democratic congressman said that he did back-channel communications with the Libyan regime, because he wanted to get all the information he could to share with his congressional colleagues. He said that he feared Secretary of State Clinton was using an emotional argument to sell a war against Libya that wasn’t warranted by the actual facts on the ground.

That congressman also said that he had sent formal letters to both the State Department and the White House about his efforts to communicate with the Qaddafi regime and the results of those communications. Neither the State Department nor the White House ever responded to the congressman or his letters.

MILITARY SET UP ITS OWN COMMUNICATIONS WITH QADDAFI

Both inside and outside the Obama administration, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was among the most vocal early proponents of using U.S. military force to unseat Colonel Muammar Qaddafi Joining her in making the case were French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, and her successor as secretary of state, John F. Kerry.

Secretary Clinton’s main argument in the summer of 2011 was that Muammar Qaddafi was about to engage in a genocide against civilians in Benghazi, which the rebels held as their center of power. But defense intelligence officials could not corroborate those concerns; and in fact, their assessment was that Qaddafi was unlikely to risk world outrage by inflicting mass casualties, Pentagon officials told The Washington Times. As a result, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, strongly opposed Hillary Clinton’s recommendation to use U.S. military might against Qaddafi's forces.

Because of the refusal of the White House and State Department to heed intelligence and military input into its regime change strategy for Libya, the Pentagon went its own way and established communications with Seif Qaddafi through one of his friends, a U.S. businessman, who acted as the intermediary. The goal was to identify a clear path and strategy forward in Libya — something that wasn’t articulated by the White House or State Department at the time, according to Pentagon officials.

As the intelligence asset working with the Joint Chiefs kept his contacts going, one U.S. general made an attempt to negotiate directly with his Libyan military counterparts, according to interviews conducted by The Washington Times with officials directly familiar with the overture. And even after the conflict began, U.S. military leaders kept looking for a way out and a way to avoid the power vacuum that would be left in the region if the government of Colonel Qaddafi fell.

HILLARY HAS A LOT TO ANSWER FOR — WHAT HAPPENED BECAUSE OF HILLARY CLINTON’S “ LEADERSHIP ” IN 2011 NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT AND QUESTIONED IF SHE RUNS FOR PRESIDENT IN 2016

If Clinton runs for president between now and 2016, her style of leadership as it relates to foreign policy must be viewed through the one war that she personally championed during her tenure as Secretary of State. Among the key questions every candidate must answer is how they will react when faced with serious security incidents around he world; part and parcel of that is how they assess U.S. intelligence and solicit the advice of the military leadership. — America’s 2011-2012 Libyan experience with Hillary Clinton at the helm at the State Department clearly answers a lot of those questions.

Numerous U.S. officials interviewed by The Washington Times confirmed that it was Secretary of State Clinton, and not President Obama, who led the charge to use NATO military force to unseat Qaddafi as Libya’s leader. They specifically noted that Clinton repeatedly dismissed the warnings offered by career military and intelligence officials. In the tapes, a U.S. intelligence liaison working for the Pentagon told a Qaddafi aide that President Obama had privately informed members of Congress that Libya “is all Secretary Clinton’s matter” and that the nation’s highest-ranking generals were concerned that President Obama had been misinformed by Secretary Clinton.

Some of the criticism of the U.S. Libya policy at the time came from important quarters. Sergey Ivanovich Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., told The Washington Times the following: “The U.N. Security Council resolution on Libya was meant to create a no-fly zone to prevent bombing of civilians.... NATO countries that participated in this intervention were supposed to patrol the area. However, in a short amount of time the NATO flights — initially meant to stop violence on the ground — went far beyond the scope of the Security Council-mandated task and created even more violence in Libya.”

On March 19, 2011, the U.S. military, supported by France and Britain, fired off more than 110 Tomahawk missiles, hitting about 20 Libyan air and missile defense targets. Within weeks, a NATO airstrike killed one of Qaddafi’s sons and three grandsons at their the family’s Tripoli compound, sparking debate about whether the colonel and his family were legitimate targets under the U.N. resolution. Secretary of Defense Gates said the compound was targeted because it included command-and-control facilities.

In August, 2011, Muammar Qaddafi’s compound in Tripoli was overrun, signaling the end of his 42-year reign and forcing him into hiding. Two months later, Qaddafi, 69, was killed in his hometown of Sirte. His son Seif was captured by the Zintan tribe and remains in solitary confinement in a Zintan prison cell.

Since Colonel Qaddafi was removed from power, Libya has been in a constant state of chaos, with factional infighting, terrorist cells inside and outside the major cities and no uniting leader. For Americans, the worst exhibition of that chaos and terrorist activity occurred on 9/11/2012, when the U.S. Mission in Benghazi was attacked by Al Queda-affiliated terrorists resulting in the deaths of four Americans, including our ambassador to Libya.

Last week, an attack on a luxury hotel in Tripoli killed nine people, including one American. A group calling itself the Islamic State-Tripoli Province took responsibility for the attack, indicating a growing presence of anti-American terrorist groups within the country.

Well, not quite.... But, some important people are pushing for it

And those folks are completely in sync with and echo President Barack Obama’s policies, rhetoric and ideology that "We are all Americans" — especially, when referring to all those other "North Americans" still outside our borders

Possibly, George Soros isn’t directly behind this — But Soros’ son, Jonathan, and a Soros-funded group, “The New America Foundation,” certainly are

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton isn’t very far away from these proposals and their authors, either

According to World Net Daily’s top correspondent, Jerome Corsi, “ ... A Soros-funded group arguing to replace the U.S. passport with a North American passport appears ready to take up the mantle of championing the concept of a European Union-style regional government to supersede the sovereignty of the United States, Mexico and Canada, fulfilling the dream of the late American University professor Robert Pastor. *** The future of the U.S. lies in North America, not in the United States as a sovereign nation, contends the New America Foundation, a Washington-based leftist think-tank with ties to Jonathan Soros, son of famed leftist billionaire George Soros. *** Appropriately named ‘New America,’ the foundation believes the U.S. passport should soon become obsolete and replaced with a European Union-style passport issued for all citizens of the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Citizens would be redefined by their regional identity as “North Americans,” echoing President Obama’s claim in Spanish in his Dec. 17, 2014, announcement of his executive actions to re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba, ‘Todos Somos Americanos,’ or, ‘We are all Americans’...” ( See “U.S. Passports on Verge of Elimination ? – Soros-funded plan champions 'North American Union' ” by Jerome R. Corsi, 1/28/15, World Net Daily [http://www.wnd.com/2015/01/u-s-passports-on-verge-of-elimination/]).

IT’S ALSO COMING FROM SOME OF HILLARY CLINTON’S POLICY WONKS

Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, a fellow at the New America Foundation and a former adviser on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s policy planning staff, along with André Martinez, also an editor with New America and a professor at the Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University have said the following: “The United States, Canada and Mexico are bound by a shared economic, environmental, demographic and cultural destiny. How we move forward together is key to our success....” (See “Why we need a North American Passport” by Daniel Kurtz-Phelan & André Martinez, , 1/26/15, CNN/ Opinion [CNN.com[http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/26/opinion/martinez-kurtz-phelan-north-american-passport/]).

Also, the President of the New America Foundation is another former hand of Hillary Clinton’s, Anne-Marie Slaughter.

PASSPORTS ARE NECESSARY — BUT NOT U.S. PASSPORTS

The Phelan-Martinez article goes on to state that “In recognition of our shared destiny, the three countries should create a North American passport that would, over time, allow their citizens to travel, work, invest, learn and innovate anywhere in North America. Work, tourist and student visas are necessities in the modern world to regulate the flow of people between sovereign states....”

HUH ! What about U.S. passports ? Well, I guess they are just not modern enough for these
folks.

THESE FOLKS ALSO SAY REPUBLICANS HAVE CHANGED THEIR STANCE ON IMMIGRATION

Another of the interesting points raised by Phelan and Martinez in their CNN opinion piece is that Republicans need to change their stance on immigration matters. Here’s exactly how they put it, “Republicans are recognizing that their prior stance on immigration needs to change if they want to win over voters in the next presidential election....” Please note the nuances: it’s not SOME Republicans; it’s not BEGINNING TO RECOGNIZE it’s not their CURRENT stance; and it’s not MIGHT or COULD or even WILL change — NO ! It’s a done deal. The Republicans went into the tank on the immigration fight

WHO OR WHAT IS THE NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION ?

According to Jerome Corsi’s reporting, The New America Foundation gets millions of dollars in funding by a blue-chip list of leftist donors along with government funding in the form of a seven-figure grant from the U.S. State Department and a six-figure grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Prominent among a list of nearly 150 different funding sources is Google Inc., reflecting the participation of Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, who is also on the New American Foundation’s Board of Trustees. Also on the Board is Jonathan Soros, CEO of JS Capital Management LLC, a private investment firm, Jonathan Soros is also credited on the New American Foundation website as holding several board positions affiliated with the George Soros Open Society Foundations.

The president and CEO of the New American Foundation is Anne-Marie Slaughter, who previously served as Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. State Department, where she worked for Hillary Clinton from January 2009 through February 2011.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

One of New York State’s Top Republicans says Moreland Commission findings are part of U.S. Attorney Preet Bhara’s charges against Silver — Another Upstate GOPer says it was disclosures under NYS laws and rules that triggered the Feds' probe that led to the Silver indictmentDoes any of that make a difference for other legislators under investigation — like State Senator Martin Golden ?

According to an interview reported by the blog, “Syracuse.com,” Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb says that the Moreland Commission’s work led to the prosecution of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. That post noted that “Some of the work started by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's now defunct anti-corruption Moreland Commission led to last week's arrest of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, according to federal prosecutos.... ‘The only person who knows for sure is the federal prosecutor,’ said Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua. ‘So far, he hasn't shared it.’...” ( See “How Cuomo's Moreland Commission factored into Sheldon Silver's arrest (timeline)” by Teri Weaver, 1/27/15, Syracuse.com [http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2015/01/how_cuomos_moreland_commission_factored_into_sheldon_silvers_arrest.html] [tweaver@syracuse.com]).

Not everybody agreed, “Assemblyman Will Barclay, R-Pulaski, said he's not convinced that the work from Moreland factored into the investigation by federal prosecutors. He thinks that a new requirement to disclose legislators' private income played a bigger role. ‘I think one of the real catalysts was disclosing income,’ Barclay said Monday. ‘We always had to disclose it, but it never was made public.’

WHAT THE TIMELINE SHOWS

What everybody need to remember is that it was back in June 2013 that Preet Bharara launched his grand jury investigation into matters including the outside income of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. It was shortly AFTER that, on July 2, 2013, when Cuomo created “his” investigative commission — it was supposed to be an investigative panel under the Moreland Act to examine New York's weak campaign finance laws, propose changes and investigate any suspected wrongdoing, including earnings associated with lawmakers' outside incomes — importantly, that panel had subpoena power.

Governor Cuomo disbanded “his” so-called Moreland Commission on March 29, 2014, which at the time the governor claimed he had every right to do, since it was “his” commission. That was not long after the commission’s co-chair, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, had said the commission had uncovered unspecified criminal activity — and shortly after the commission had subpoenaed records from Silver and from the law firm from which Silver allegedly received millions of dollars in income that he failed to reveal in state financial disclosure records.

After Cuomo shut down “his” investigative commission, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara publicly criticized the governor for halting the Moreland Commission's work, calling it a "premature end" and that it was "difficult to understand." On April 10, 2014, Preet Bharara requested the Moreland Commission's files and documents, including documents related to its investigation of legislators' outside income; those items were then sent to the U.S. Attorney. Later the Federal Prosecutor noted that, "Certain of these documents [from the Moreland Commission] and leads contained therein are reflected in this complaint."

However, Bharara also said this at a news conference following Silver's arrest: "We had been looking at Speaker Silver's outside income for some period of time, and then merged our investigation with new material that we got from the Moreland Commission...." Interestingly, when Bharara was asked if Cuomo bears any blame for the Moreland Commission's failure to discover or to make public the secret payments to Silver; Bharara’s answer was neither an acknowledgment nor a denial. "I've made my view about the shutting down of the Moreland Commission clear. That's all I'll say...."

WHAT ABOUT THE ONGOING INVESTIGATIONS BY THE FEDS

The last item in the timeline contained in the Syracuse.com article says “... Bharara continues to investigate lawmakers.”

Certain questions need to be looked into, especially with respect those parts of the U.S. Attorney’s investigations of any local GOP representatives in Albany — and so far, that only means NYS Senator Marty Golden.

Did U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara begin his investigations of State Senator Marty Golden’s “fundraising” as part of the same original investigations into the outside income of certain legislators like Sheldon Silver ? What, if any, Moreland Commission generated material included anything about State Senator Golden and his interactions with large-scale real estate developers ? Did State Senator Golden and others in the GOP State Senate leadership attempt to influence Governor Cuomo or anybody else to shutdown or limit the Moreland investigations ? Did Governor Cuomo’s shutdown of the Moreland Commission effect the U.S. Attorney’s investigations of Marty Golden in any way ?

The answer to all or even some of those questions might well effect whether there will be charges against Golden, as well as the nature and scope of those charges.

Two Republican Senators on Committee clearly oppose approving Lynch — Two Others seem to be alright with recommending her to the rest of the SenateCruz says that he was disappointed with the answers Lynch gave about President Obama’s Executive Orders — But, he spoke to her as if she were going to be approvedLynch says she thinks that the United States currently is "at war" — She says that drone bombings and NSA eavesdropping are lawful, but waterboarding is not

According to a Newsmax report, “Two top Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee came out against Loretta Lynch's nomination as attorney general Wednesday after she defended President Barack Obama's amnesty orders and refused to say whether she would challenge the White House over the use of powers. *** ‘We are at a dangerous moment,’ said Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, who repeatedly questioned Lynch over the legality of Obama's unilateral actions during the first day of her confirmation hearing. ‘For the Senate to approve this nomination would bring us another step closer to the point’s edge.’ *** Louisiana Sen. David Vitter charged that Lynch was ‘in lockstep with his illegal executive amnesty.’...” ( See “Sen. Vitter Charges Lynch Is 'in Lockstep' With Obama's Illegal Actions” by Todd Beamon, 1/28/15, Newsmax [http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Loretta-Lynch-hearings-AG-questioned/2015/01/28/id/621363/]).

Even though Ms. Lynch offered few opinions or details as to on how she would run the Justice Department as the Attorney General of the United States, she apparently stood firmly behind those executive orders by President Obama, about which she was questioned.. Specifically she said that the legal justification for the policies, outlined in an opinion by the department, were sound. It was that support that led to one of several tense exchanges between Lynch and Senator Jeff Sessions.

Cruz admonishes Lynch — If she is approved, she should...

Newsmax gave this account of what Senator Ted Cruz had to say to nominee Lynch: “...’I will say that it is disappointing in this hearing that, try as I might, there has been nothing I have been able to ask you that has yielded any answer suggesting any limitations whatsoever on the authority of the president,’ Cruz said as his questioning period ended. *** ‘That does not augur well for this committee's assessment of your willingness to stand up to the president when the Constitution and the laws so require.’ *** ‘It is discouraging,’ Cruz later added. ‘I hope that if you are confirmed that your conduct in office differs from the answers you have given at this hearing.’..."

Lynch says she believes that country is "at war"

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham called on the nominee to review some of President Obama's policy as it related to releasing terrorists held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Graham asked Lynch,"Do you believe we are at war ?" Loretta Lynch, whose brother had been a Navy Seal that died in 2009, tersely answered, "I believe we are at war, Senator."

There was some disagreement about other policies involving national security; and Graham admonished the nominee that she needed to review cases that decided that Americans could be held as enemy combatants to obtain intelligence and laws that allowed for drones or other lethal force to be used against U.S. citizens who have been deemed to be aiding terrorism.

Bottom line, Senator Lindsay Graham was satisfied with Lynch's testimony. "In my opinion, you have acquitted yourself very well," he said as his time ended.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Something “...outside was frightful...” — But it wasn’t “The weather...”— And it all could be the “New Normal”BUT — Even de Blasio wants answers about Cuomo’s unilateral subway shutdown

Here’s an AP item that sort of tells a story that sound’s just a little worrisome:

“NEW YORK — They appeared to be scenes from a frozen apocalypse. *** Streets across the nation's largest city were empty, the only movement the changing traffic lights signaling to cars that weren't there. The subway system was shuttered, the city's pulse rendered still. Hardy souls who braved the snow were threatened with fines or arrest. *** And it could be the new normal. *** Though the snowstorm largely missed New York City, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio staunchly defended their unprecedented, stringent restrictions, both saying they believed in landing on the side of caution and suggesting they would take such measures again....” ( See “Cuomo, de Blasio, defend strict NYC storm regulations” by Jonathan Lemire, 1/28/15, Deseret News/ Associated Press [http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765667266/Cuomo-de-Blasio-defend-strict-NYC-storm-regulations.html]).

IS THIS THE “NEW NORMAL” ? — THREATS OF ARRESTS !

Jonathan Lemire’s article goes on to state, “Before the heavy snows even reached New York, officials closed schools, shut down bridges and tunnels, canceled commuter rail service and, for the first time ever in a snowstorm, closed the city's sprawling subway system at 11 p.m. Monday. A travel ban was put in place and drivers caught out on the roads were subject to arrest.”And then the author of the piece said this: “Similar restrictions, previously unheard of, were put in place for a pair of hurricanes within the last five years.”

CUOMO AFRAID OF A REPEAT OF HIS OWN RECENT FAILURE TO ACT

The Lemire report on the AP also commented about the Governor’s response to the storm, as follows: “Cuomo acknowledged that his decision to act aggressively stems from the historic storm that blanketed Buffalo with seven feet of snow late last year. *** ‘We make big decisions based on these weather forecasts,’ the governor said. ‘We decided not to close the roads in Buffalo ... and we had people stranded on the roads for 12, 15, 20 hours. You can have a significant loss of life in these situations.’..."

A SPLIT BETWEEN THE MAYOR AND GOVERNOR ? — MAYOR WANTS ANSWERS ABOUT THE GOVERNOR’S UNILATERAL SUBWAY SHUTDOWN

Even though de Blasio and Cuomo similarly defended their actions in response to the oncoming sstorm, their presentations looked like anything but a united front.

Cuomo and de Blasio never appeared at a joint press conference. On Monday night was the somewhat absurd circumstance of these two men, just five miles apart, delivering very similar information in separate press conferences with less than an hour separating the two speeches.

Then, on Tuesday morning, New York City Mayor de Blasio revealed that his administration only received word that the subways, which aren’t under the mayor’s control, were being shut down mere minutes before Cuomo made the public announcement. De Blasio said that he would not second-guess the Governor’s decision — but the Mayor made clear he wanted to study the repercussions of the Governor’s order to shut down the city’s subways.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Chairman Grassley is wasting an opportunity to act like an adult in the room by instead choosing to act like a cranky old white guy — As a result, Grassley is abusing his moment in the spotlight to bring up past peeves and to poke certain Obama Administration Democrats in the eye

Calling witnesses like Sharyl Attkisson, formerly of CBS News, and Catherine Engelbrecht, the founder of the Tea Party-aligned “True the Vote,” show intent to focus on Holder’s term as A.G. and not Lynch’s time as U.S. Attorney under HolderEmbarrassing Obama and Holder though laudable in other contexts is not the main purpose of these hearings

According to a report in “The Hill” by Julian Hatten, “A former CBS investigative reporter who has filed a $35 million lawsuit against the Obama administration for hacking will be among the witnesses at a hearing on President Obama's attorney general nominee.... [Sharyl Attkisson] will testify during this week’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for Loretta Lynch, Obama’s nominee to replace Eric Holder as attorney general, a testimony announced by panel Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) Monday evening. *** Also testifying will be Catherine Engelbrecht, the founder of the Tea Party-aligned True the Vote, which was unfairly targeted by the IRS, she has said, when it attempted to seek tax-exempt status. *** The two will testify separately from Lynch, on a second panel alongside legal experts and former and current law enforcement officials. ( See “Stonewalled author Attkisson to testify on Obama’s AG nominee” by Julian Hatten, 1/26/15, The Hill/ Policy [http://thehill.com/policy/technology/230795-ex-cbs-reporter-irs-targeted-group-leader-to-testify-on-new-ag]).

Instead of again looking back at things like “Fast and Furious,” Grassley’s committee needs to look at Lynch with a magnifying glass. Among reported matters [some of them mentioned previously on this blog], during her time as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Loretta Lynch has been tied to questionable sweet deals for “cooperating witnesses,” as well as engaging in unfair and possibly unlawful asset forfeitures. Senate investigators and questioners must get into whether Lynch’s closet contains any other skeletons before making any rash and uninformed decisions on Lynch’s nomination to be the next Attorney General of the United States.

Monday, January 26, 2015

NY Post says U.S. Attorney Bharara’s focus is on the deal for tax breaks for luxury condo — One57 State Senator Golden’s former Democrat opponent implies that means — Marty Golden, as the "author" of those breaksI guess we will have to — "STAY TUNED" — Just like Bharara told the media after he indicted Assembly Speaker Silver

Basically, this is the bottom line of what the New York Post said about the probe by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara today: “US Attorney Preet Bharara is investigating the massive tax breaks granted to Midtown’s luxury One57 condo building... sources told The Post on Sunday....” (See “Bharara probing tax deals given to luxury condo building” by Larry Celona and Bruce Golding, 1/26/15, NY Post [http://nypost.com/2015/01/26/bharara-probing-tax-deals-given-to-luxury-condo-building/]). The Post specifically mentioned this: “One57’s tax abatements were granted under the “421-a” program, which was highlighted in last week’s criminal complaint against Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who is charged in a $4?million corruption scheme. He was accused of using his power over development incentives to steer business to a law firm run by his former Assembly counsel....”

Kemmerer's Tweet

Prior newspaper articles and even this blog have connected that specific property and its coverage under the 421-a tax abatement program to special legislation personally introduced by NYS Senator Martin Golden. That particular bit of information was given a new boost earlier this evening when Golden’s Democrat opponent in the 2014 General Election blasted out this tweet:
______________________________

Jamie Kemmerer
@JamieKemmerer Jan 26, 2015, 6:28 PM
As the author of the language for these tax breaks, I'm sure Golden must be watching this very closely. nypost.com/2015/01/26/bha… #corruption
______________________________

This is anything but a slow news day — But I think that things are really starting to get a little crazy

"... Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..."

The Northeast is going to get belted by lots of snow and high winds and who knows what else; so what more needs to be said about that ? ( See any news or social medium in the NYC metropolitan area).

“Our” naughty President caught chewing gum again

President Obama, who has been caught munching on gum during high-profile political events before, was taken to task by the India’s largest newspaper after the U.S. President was spotted taking a piece of gum out of his mouth during a formal appearance at India’s annual Republic Day parade ( See “ GUMMING UP THE WORKS: Obama blasted for chewing gum during visit with Indian prime minister” by Adam Edelman, 1/26/15, NY Daily News [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/obama-blasted-chewing-gum-visit-indian-pm-article-1.2092456]).

The News coverage goes on like this: “Obama, currently in the country meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was spotted at India’s annual Republic Day parade, sitting among his fellow dignitaries, removing a piece of chewing gum from his mouth. *** The President, who has been known to chew Nicorette nicotine replacement gum, was blasted by Indian media for the act. *** ‘'In an ungainly sight, cameras caught U.S. President Barack Obama chewing gum during the Republic Day parade on Monday,’ The Times of India wrote. ‘In the picture captured by cameras and posted on Twitter by some users, Obama was spotted removing his chewing gum while PM Modi was seen trying to explain something to the U.S. President.’

Shocking ! Just, shocking !

Meanwhile back home, supposedly, some not so very “guided stuff” is landing on the White House lawn in the middle of the night

This from the New York Times: “WASHINGTON — The small drone that crashed into a tree on the South Lawn of the White House early Monday morning was operated by a government employee who has told the Secret Service that he did not mean to fly it over the White House fence and near the president’s residence, according to law enforcement officials. *** The employee — who does not work for the White House — has told the Secret Service that he was flying the drone for recreational purposes at about 3 a.m. in the area around 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue when he lost control of it. *** So far, the Secret Service said it believed the man’s account....” (See “Government Employee Flies Small Drone Over White House Fence” by Michael D. Shear & Michael S. Schmidt, 1/26/15, NY Times/ U.S. [http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/27/us/white-house-drone.html]).

For now, most news people and officials seem agree that the pre-dawn incident triggered a lockdown of the White House perimeter. Also obvious, is that this drone occurrence has pretty much revived concerns and inquiries about the security of the White House. Not only because, this is the second reported drone incident since last summer, but because of other recent breaches of White House security..

Other news outlets have indicated that the man who says it was his drone has been "been fully cooperative" (See “ [http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/01/26/obama-white-house-device-josh-earnest/22338781/]). Among other matters, that story went on to say, “The Secret Service said ‘an individual called the Secret Service this morning at approximately 9:30 a.m. to self-report that they had been in control of the quad copter device that crashed on the White House grounds early this morning’ *** Investigators believe the man was flying the drone — a 2-foot ‘quad copter,’ weighing only a few pounds — for recreational purposes, but may refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney's Office, said a government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the matter is still under investigation....”

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Kip of the "Bay Ridge Journal" jumps all over story about Nicole's move that broke in "Capital New York"

Staten Island GOP Chairman says he has “...No Problem...” with Malliotakis’ change of address into the Lanza State Senate district — but Antoniello won’t move to bridge any divisions in the Staten Island GOP vis a vis Nicole yet

“Kip” in the Bay Ridge Journal put it this way: “... State Assembly Member Nicole Malliotakis (R-64th AD) has changed her voting address from Rosebank to the western end of Bay Terrace. *** The move keeps her in the same Assembly district, but moves her from State Senator Diane Savino's district into State Senator Andrew Lanza's.” (See “Malliotakis Queing up Her Next Run?” by Kip, 1/24/15, Bay Ridge Journal [http://bayridgejournal.blogspot.com/2015/01/malliotakis-queing-up-her-next-run.html]). You can’t get more pithy than that.

WHAT DOES ALL OR ANY OF IT MEAN ?

When Staten Island Republican Party chairman John Antoniello said “We’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it....” — was he taking a shot at Brooklyn and that Nicole M represented a part of that borough ? Possibly so, because any taint of “Brooklyn stink” can be deadly in races involving Staten Island.

When you put it all in a little context it makes somewhat more sense. According to the report in Capital New York, “Staten Island Republican Party chairman John Antoniello said it was Malliotakis’ choice to make the move. *** ‘I have no problem with it,’ he said. *** Asked if he would support Malliotakis if Lanza's Senate seat were to come open, Antoniello said, ‘We’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it.’...” (See “Malliotakis moves Senate districts
Tweet” by Colby Hamilton, 1/23/15, Capital New York [http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2015/01/8560824/malliotakis-moves-senate-districts]). Needless to say, all of that is code; and Alan Turing with his zip-zam-zowy decoding machine couldn’t decode it unless he knew the nuances of Staten Island Republican politics in advance ( In the movie, “Imitation Game,” the Bletchley Parkers [a variation of Nosey Parkers] needed to know the actual letters in certain repeated phrases in all the German messages to break the Enigma-coded messages, even with Turing’s machine).

So here’s how “Kip” sees it : “... Coming just after Richmond County District Attorney Dan Donovan beat her out as the county GOP committee nominee in the upcoming special election to replace former Congressional Representative Michael Grimm, Malliotakis' move is seen as a succession bid. *** If Donovan gets elected to Congress and State Senator Andrew Lanza, regarded as the leading Republican contender for Donovan's seat, succeeds him as district attorney, Lanza's seat in the State Senate will be open.”

Then again, what does “Kip” know ? She’s from Brooklyn and she’s a Democrat. But while she was at it, why didn’t she opine what it all meant for the corner of Bay Ridge represented by our girl, Nicole.

Congressman King pounds back in opening speech against “Dreamers” and other “Illegals” — saying they're from another planet

Late last week, as certain Republican presidential hopefuls were arriving in Iowa for this weekend’s Freedom Summit; illegal immigrants in Iowa, together with their supporters were issuing threats and warnings for such candidates: “Stay away from a major driving force behind the event you'll be attending – Rep. Steve King – if you want to have any chance of winning Hispanic votes ( See “Amnesty Supporters to GOP: Stay Away From Rep. Steve King” by Joel Himelfarb, 1/23/15, Newsmax [http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/illegal-immigrants-steve-king-iowa/2015/01/23/id/620447/]).

The Washington Times reports that one of the so-called “Dreamers” who is in the United States as a result of President Barack Obama's 2012 amnesty for “Illegals” brought here by their parents said this: "If the GOP wants to win [in] 2016, then they are going to have to make sure that they stay as much as possible away from Steve King as they can...." That comment was identified as being made by Erika Andiola, who was also identified as a “Dreamer....” (See “Iowa Hispanics to GOP: Stay away from amnesty foe Steve King” by Seth McLaughlin, 1/22/15, The Washington Times [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/22/iowa-hispanics-to-tell-gop-to-stay-away-from-amnes/]).

Also according to the Times report by Seth McLaughlin, Monica Reyes, co-founder of DREAM Iowa, a pro-amnesty group, also warned Republicans to shun King, now in his seventh term in the House. "We will stand up for our communities, and we will try to protect what we earned and what we worked hard to get," Reyes said. "So if they want the Latino vote, if they want immigration allies, they need to change their stances. They need to keep away from Steve King." She was also more ominous, and perhaps even said things that were more threatening, than that — Ms. Reyes said that "...there will be repercussions for those who stand with Mr. King in trying to reverse Mr. Obama’s executive actions....”

CONGRESSMAN KING NOT DETERRED BY SO-CALLED “DREAMERS” AND THEIR SUPPORTERS — LAUNCHES HIS IOWA SUMMIT BY SAYING THEY ARE “FROM ANOTHER PLANET”

“Rep. Steve King, at the opening of his Iowa Freedom Summit, took another jab at so-called DREAMers, saying they come from a different ‘planet’.... ‘We’re a great people. We have a vitality that’s unequaled on the planet. We come from every possible planet, uh, every possible continent,’ King said, to laughter from the crowd.... ‘They’re across the street, those people that come from the other planet,’ he said, prompting more laughs and applause from the audience....” ( See “Steve King opens Iowa summit with attack on DREAMers – In an attempted joke, he calls them ‘those people that come from the other planet’ ” by Jonathan Topaz, 1/24/15, Politico [http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/steve-king-iowa-summit-immigration-dreamers-114552.html]).

On a similar topic, Politico noted that “On Tuesday, King criticized a DREAMer invited to sit in the first lady’s box at the State of the Union address as “a deportable,” a remark that he defended after facing criticism. The congressman, who has been confronted several times on camera by immigration advocates, has previously said most undocumented immigrations have ‘calves the size of cantaloupes’ from smuggling drugs and compared them to dogs.”

CONGRESSMAN KING HAD OTHER THINGS TO SAY TO AND ABOUT THE FREEDOM SUMMIT

Politico also mentioned that King had some OTHER things to say during his opening at The Freedom Summit — “... [A]n emotional King offered an impromptu prayer for the next president to ‘restore the soul of America.’ He laid out several challenges to Republicans running for president, including supporting a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, abolishing the IRS and repealing the Affordable Care Act. *** [He] also predicted that the next president of the United States would be speaking at his summit, an apparent slight to several potential Republican candidates who didn’t appear at the event — among them Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney.”

Saturday, January 24, 2015

The Daily News refers to Golden as a “...Brooklyn Democrat...” in its coverage of his possible problems with U.S. Attorney Preet BhararaThe apparent mistake is in a caption below one of Golden’s several photos in an article about the reaction to a Federal Prosecutor’s comment to “...Stand By...” [ for more indictments ?]

The Daily News opened its story about Preet Bharara’s provocative remarks following his indictment of NYS Assembly Speaker Shelley Silver like this: “ALBANY — U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s warning to “stay tuned” for more corruption arrests after he bagged Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has sent a big chill through the state Capitol. *** ‘I think everyone is waiting for the next shoe to drop,’ said one legislative official. *** Added former Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, a Westchester Democrat: ‘When a prosecutor says stay tuned, I think he means it.’ *** The big fish reportedly being looked at is Gov. Cuomo....” (See “U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's 'stay tuned' warning after accused Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's arrest sends chill through state Capitol” by Glenn Blain & Ken Lovett, 1/24/15, NY Daily News [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/preet-bharara-warning-sends-chill-state-capitol-article-1.2090219]).

Marty Golden is mentioned several times in that News article. However, he is clearly not as big a fish as Governor Cuomo or Speaker Silver; and maybe the caption-person just doesn’t know that much about Golden.

Dispute as to Bay Ridge Palestinian activist’s presence at City Hall disruption of Holocaust event and against CC members going to Israel — In any case, Sarsour’s Tweets indicate more support than criticism of disruptive demonstratorsWhy it matters — Linda Sarsour is not just a local Islamist operative and general rabble-rouser, she is a Democrat active in Bay Ridge and City-wide politics

According to a report in the Daily News, “Pro-Palestinian activists disrupted a City Council meeting Thursday to protest Council members’ planned trip to Israel next month. *** Protesters in the balcony of the Council chamber unfurled a Palestinian flag and began yelling “Palestinian lives matter,” “Don’t support genocide,” and “Melissa, you’re a hypocrite,” a slam on Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who will lead the Israel delegation. *** Council members reacted furiously to the demonstration - especially because the disruption began as they were concluding a vote on a resolution commemorating the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp....” (See “Pro-Palestinian activists disrupt City Council meeting” by Erin Durkin, 1/22/15, NY Daily News/ Daily Politics [http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/pro-palestinian-activists-disrupt-city-council-meeting-blog-entry-1.2088801]). There were similar reports of these goings-on from other news outlets.

Later, the demonstrators and some of their supporters emphasized that what was being protested was the fact that fifteen NYC Council members were planning to take a nine day trip to Israel paid for by the Jewish Community Relations Council and the UJA Federation of New York starting on February 15th.

The events at City Hall on Thursday almost immediately sparked a confrontative exchange on social media involving a leading local pro-Arab/ pro-Palestinian/ pro-Islamist activist, Linda Sarsour, whom this blog has been discussing quite a bit lately.

Among other things, some people believe that she was at the demonstrations Thursday — which is something that she denies. Also a bone of contention is whether her criticisms of those involved in the pro-Palestinian disruptions were sincere, because her earliest Tweets seemed to voice support for the exercise.

I think that her Tweets tell a tale.... [the snarkier remarks back and forth give context and flavor to what I have posted below, however time and space preclude their full reproduction in this post — more complete “conversations” are contained a Linda Sarsour’s Tweets (Linda Sarsour @lsarsour). Here are what I consider the pithier remarks from Ms. Sarsour concerning the fracas inside the CC Chamber at City Hall:
_______________________________

Linda Sarsour @lsarsour  Jan 22 [10:15 PM]
@NYCCouncilWatch can't speak for everyone. I wasn't there and have nothing to do with it. Clearly it was bad timing.
_______________________________

Linda Sarsour @lsarsour  Jan 23 [2:25 AM]
@Yidel5 @YossiGestetner I support their right 2 protest & their criticism of Israel trip but obviously not during holocaust commemoration
_______________________________

Strategy and timing is everything

What is the take-away from Linda Sarsour's Tweets ? It's all about "...Strategy people. Strategy. Always strategy...." and that "...strategy and timing is everything..."

Some might say that this is merely a tempest in a tea cup — They would be wrong

These demonstrations show that local Islamists have become so emboldened that they can take a disruptive anti-Israel-pro-Palestinian demonstration right into the New York City Council Chamber. This could easily have been a tactical exercise for something more formidable in the near future [Don’t forget a not-so-long-ago murderous rampage and shoot-out that occurred in the very place of Thursday’s disruption]. Unfortunately, we are not likely to have all the necessary intelligence about any of that, or have the ability to have the best security in place against it. Thanks to the efforts of Ms. Sarsour and others of her ilk, Mayor deBlasio has directed the NYPD to cut back its surveillance of radical Islamists in many of their meeting places, including in parts of Brooklyn like Bay Ridge.

Remember, it's all about "...Strategy people. Strategy. Always strategy...." — and "...strategy and timing is everything..."

Friday, January 23, 2015

Hillary looks like perfect casting for LBJ — She has all the wrinkles, can show us all her scars and can even wear the same boxy suitsThis time, the Republicans will win more than Goldwater’s six states — In 2016 it’ll be at least a dozen, for sureRight now, Bobby Jindal and Ted Cruz are vying for the “I’d rather be right...” caucus of the GOP — Some of these really-right conservatives will start to mark their territory at the conservative gathering in Iowa this weekend

Some commentators are already setting up a straw man, in order to derail strongly principled conservatives like Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. The argument goes something like this: "Establishment Republicans, who still live with the specter of an arch-conservative getting the GOP nomination for presidency like Barry Goldwater did in 1964, won’t let anybody like Rand Paul or Ted Cruz get the Republican nomination ( See e.g., “Rand Paul Will Not Win 2016 Presidential Election” by Christopher Spencer, 3/16/14, Guardian Liberty Voice [http://guardianlv.com/2014/03/rand-paul-will-not-win-2016-presidential-election/]; see also “Extremism” by 10/20/13, [http://phillipsbillboard.com/?p=3363]); see also “KEY DATES IN REPUBLICAN PARTY HISTORY 52 YEARS APART-1860, 1912, 1964, 2016!” by “Ronald”, 10/7/13 [http://www.theprogressiveprofessor.com/?p=21602]). Some have even said that “The Republican primary electorate tends to be somewhat risk-averse. The party’s donor base is even more so. Win or lose, Republicans generally go with the safe choice in presidential candidates. The one recent exception, Barry Goldwater in 1964, almost proves the rule....” (See “How the GOP Can Win the Presidency in 2016" by W. James Anttle III, 10/2/14, The National Interest [http://nationalinterest.org/feature/how-the-gop-can-win-the-presidency-2016-11392?page=2]).

With the recent notable activities by and on behalf of Bobby Jindal in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris, his name will doubtless be added to that list of unacceptable extreme conservative Republicans.

Democrats want to crown Hillary like the Democrats of 1964 did to LBJ

Although it is a stretch, Hillary Rodham Clinton could made into a reasonable resemblance of Lyndon Baines Johnson. After all, both have exhibited ruthlessness earlier in their lives; and both played background or supportive roles in the wings while very popular Democrats ruled before them: LBJ to JFK; and Hillary, both to her husband Bill, and again to Barack Obama.

The Republicans’ meeting in Iowa

Saturday, the largest gathering of potential Republican candidates to date will be in Iowa for the annual Freedom Summit, an event that some see as an informal kickoff to the 2016 presidential campaign. The Freedom Summit has been organized by Congressman Steve King and Citizens United, and it is expected to attract over a thousand local activists from Iowa’s conservative grassroots base, largely made up of Tea party supporters, Evangelical Christians and libertarian activists (See “Conservative Gathering in Iowa Offers Platform to Several Possible 2016 Contenders” by Trip Gabriel & Ashley Parker, 1/22/15, NY Times [http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/us/politics/republican-gathering-in-iowa-offers-platform-to-several-possible-16-contenders.html?_r=0]).

According to the Times, those scheduled to speak include: former Governor and Fox host Mike Huckabee of Arkansas; former governor Rick Perry of Texas; Senator Ted Cruz of Texas; Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin; former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania; and retired neurosurgeon and hospital administrator Ben Carson. The Times article made much of the fact that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie would be attending the Freedom Summit, but that Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney were likely to take a pass on the event. Interestingly, the Times did not make any mention of Bobby Jindal whatsoever.

Bobby Jindal

Fresh off of Bobby Jindal’s momentous appearance in London, where he denounced the practice of “Muslim No-Go Zones” in various European countries, Jindal’s folks have just opened a new PAC [ Is that an even dozen yet ?] for the candidate that says: “If I were to run for president, it’s because I believe in our country, the American dream is at jeopardy...." [maybe that’s how they say it back where Jindal was conceived] (See “Jindal Supporters, Readying for 2016 Run, Launch New PAC” by Melissa Clyne, 1/23/15, Newsmax
[http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/Bobby-Jindal-pac-presidency-2016/2015/01/23/id/620298/]).

According to the Melissa Clyne story in Newsmax this morning, “Supporters of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal have registered a political action committee with the Federal Elections Commission in preparation for the Pelican State’s leader to seek the presidency in 2016, according to MSNBC. *** "We want to be prepared if Gov. Jindal wants to run for president," said Brad Todd, lead consultant for the super PAC "Believe Again." "Our job is to raise money and communicate ideas. We’re very confident that it will be well received by donors."

Ted Cruz

Even though Ted Cruz will be a prominent participant in the Freedom Summit in Iowa this weekend, a recent article showcases why his presidential candidacy is such a problem in and for the GOP.

According to Ruben Navarrette Jr., “... At a time when the GOP is hemorrhaging support from Hispanics, would nominating Cruz provide a solution—or, given his extreme rightwing politics, make the problem worse? ...” (See “Is Ted Cruz ‘Post-Hispanic’?” by Ruben Navarrette Jr., 1/22/15, The Daily Beast [http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/22/is-ted-cruz-post-hispanic.html]). The article went on to note “Ted [Cruz] knows about being attacked on a personal level. In May 2013, he was treated like a piñata by Bill Richardson. The Democratic former New Mexico governor accused the freshman senator of being ‘anti-immigration’ and even insisted that he didn’t think that Ted ‘should be defined as a Hispanic.’...”

But of course, this is Ruben Navarrette’s article’s money line “So how “Hispanic” is Ted? For those Americans who believe that President Obama is ‘post racial,’ it’s tempting to say that Ted is ‘post-Hispanic.’...”

Pursuant to provisions of the NYS S.A.F.E. Act, the Empire State wants to create a new digital database of all handgun owners — It will require re-registrations of handgun permits by 2018 — Clerks and law enforcement already running into problemsFulton County Sheriff's advice: “'TOSS GUN-REGISTRATION LETTERS IN TRASH”“THE REVOLT IS UNDER WAY” – says Larry Pratt, Gun Owners of America Executive Director

New York State has sent out 500 “invitations” to gun owners in several counties asking them to participate in an early pilot program. In those counties, gun owners are being asked to go online and upload their information on each gun they own. The Sheriff of Fulton County New York Thomas Lorey volunteered his county to participate in the pilot program, however he did that only to send a message to the bureaucrats in the Albany, including Governor Andrew Cuomo, that he will not work to enforce those provisions of the S.A.F.E. Act (See “Sheriff's advice: 'Toss gun-registration letters in trash' ” by Leo Hohmann, 1/22/15, World Net Daily [http://www.wnd.com/2015/01/sheriffs-advice-toss-gun-registration-letters-in-trash/])

Sheriff Lorey told a recent meeting of conservative activists, “I’m asking everyone that gets those invitations [to re-register their guns] to throw them in the garbage because that is where they belong.... [F]or 100 years or more, ever since the inception of pistol permits, nobody has ever been required to renew them.”

The Fulton County Sheriff isn’t alone in his views,. The New York State Sheriffs Association and individual sheriffs are already on record opposing tightened gun laws and are suing the governor to block their enforcement. Less than a year ago, The Times Union of Albany reported that getting all of the counties up to speed with the new online database had been a chore, resulting in many delays (See “County clerks: State delays handgun permit updates under NY SAFE Act” by Rick Karlin, 4/18/14, Albany Times Union/ timesunion.com [http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/County-clerks-State-delays-handgun-permit-5408699.php]). According to various sources mentioned in the WND article, many of those NYS S.A.F.E. Act implementation problems persist.

County Sheriff Tom Lorey seems to be leading a revolt in Fulton County New York State similar to what is going on in some places in neighboring Connecticut, where thousands of gun owners have refused to comply with the sweeping new gun control laws that were passed in the wake of the Sandy Hook School shootings.

“The revolt is underway,” according to Gun Owners of America leader Larry Pratt talking about Connecticut’s refusnik gun owners. “Tens of thousands of people in Connecticut have intentionally missed the deadline. They are not registering. Some of them actually said they would not when they were at the hearing when the law was being considered in the legislature....”

Thursday, January 22, 2015

The Number Two Man in the political establishment of New York State is charged with mail fraud, wire fraud and extortion in a five-count Federal indictment Republicans and Democrats call on Speaker Silver to step downLocally, Brooklyn State Senator Marty Golden faces a Federal investigation for many similar matters to those faced by Speaker Silver

The New York Times and several other news outlets are reporting that Sheldon Silver, Speaker of the Assembly and one of the top Democrats in New York State, is being arrested on corruption charges. “In a five-count criminal complaint outlining the charges, Mr. Silver is accused of ‘using the power and influence of his official position to obtain for himself millions of dollars of bribes and kickbacks masked as legitimate income’....” (See “Sheldon Silver, Speaker of New York Assembly, Is Arrested in Corruption Case by William K.Rashbaum, Thomas Kaplan and Susannee Craigian, 1/22/15, NY Times/ NY Region [http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/nyregion/speaker-of-new-york-assembly-sheldon-silver-is-arrested-in-corruption-case.html?_r=0]).

According to the report in the Times, “The powerful speaker of the New York State Assembly, Sheldon Silver, was arrested on federal corruption charges on Thursday and accused of using the power of his office to solicit millions in bribes and kickbacks, according to court documents. *** The arrest of Mr. Silver, a Democrat from the Lower East Side of Manhattan who has served as speaker for more than two decades, sent shock waves through the political establishment and upending the new legislative session. *** Mr. Silver surrendered to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents early Thursday morning in Lower Manhattan, law enforcement officials said....”

SEIZURE OF ASSETS

Federal prosecutors have seized approximately $3.8 million of Mr. Silver’s money; and Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, is expected to provide more details about the charges and other matters at a 1 p.m. news conference today.

REPUBLICANS CALL ON SILVER TO STEP DOWN IMMEDIATELY — BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THEY IGNORE SIMILAR MISDEEDS BY FELLOW REPUBLICANS

According to the New York Post, “The speaker’s arrest sent political shockwaves from Albany to New York City. *** ‘He needs to step down as speaker while the justice process takes its course,’ said Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island [and part of Brooklyn]) *** The state Republican party wants Silver out of the Assembly now. *** ‘Sheldon Silver must immediately resign from the State Assembly,’ said NYGOP spokesman David Laska....” (See “Sheldon Silver arrested, accused of taking millions in bribes” by David K. Li, 1/22/15, NY Post/ Metro [http://nypost.com/2015/01/22/sheldon-silver-arrested/]). However, neither of those Republicans acknowledged or even seemed aware that Federal Prosecutor Preet Bharara’s office is also investigating various similar activities of prominent Republicans like NYS Senator Martin Golden, whose district overlaps with that of Ms. Malliotakis.

Meanwhile, a Democrat spokesperson said that both Speaker Silver and Republican State Senate boss Dean Skelos have allowed similar activities to flourish on both sides of the aisle.

THE MARTY GOLDEN CONNECTION

As has been often reported on this blog, the investigation of Mr. Silver picked up speed as a Federal probe after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo abruptly shut down his own anti-corruption commission investigation in March of 2014.

Brooklyn Republican State Senator Martin Golden is right now involved in a similar Federal corruption probe that also grew out of Cuomo’s shut-down of his anti-corruption commission. Like the investigation that led to the charges against Speaker Silver, the probe of Marty Golden appears to be focused on money coming from large real estate developers. Also both Golden and Silver appear to have been instrumental in getting large tax breaks for those big developers.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

A split in the State of the Union — Take this ! — A big “departure from protocol” from the man “second in line to the presidency”

It didn’t take long — Boehner responds to the SOTUS by the POTUS on the next day

“John Boehner’s Bibi invite sets up showdown with White House – the speaker didn’t consult with the administration before inviting Netanyahu to address Congress about Iran” – Politico

“Boehner insisted... he wasn't ‘poking anyone in the eye’.... But that's sure not how it looks” – The Atlantic

According to Jake Sherman, writing for Politico, “House Speaker John Boehner is setting up his most dramatic foreign policy confrontation with President Barack Obama to date, inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak about Iran in front of a joint session of Congress on Feb. 11. *** Netanyahu is a fierce opponent of the emerging U.S. nuclear agreement with the Islamic republic, and has served as Obama’s foil, of sorts, as the negotiations have progressed. And his visit to Washington seems mostly for optics: When it comes to Iran, many Republicans and Democrats in the Capitol seem more closely aligned with Netanyahu than with Obama.... *** Netanyahu’s speech could present a spectacle rarely seen in Washington — the leader of another nation, standing just blocks from the White House at the invitation of Congress to rebut the United States’ foreign policy....”(See “John Boehner’s Bibi invite sets up showdown with White House...” by Jake Sherman, 1/21/15, Politico [http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/john-boehner-invites-benjamin-netanyahu-congress-iran-114439.html]).

The intellectually hefty magazine, “The Atlantic,” had this to say: “Republicans who panned President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night have responded by inviting one of their favorite speakers back for a return engagement: Benjamin Netanyahu....” (See “Now Speaking for the Republicans: Benjamin Netanyahu” by Russell Berman, 1/21/15, The Atlantic/ theatlantic.com
[http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/01/now-speaking-for-the-republicans-benjamin-netanyahu/384697/]).

Berman’s piece in “The Atlantic” went on to explain and quote House Speaker Boehner, as follows: “... In effect, Boehner is asking Netanyahu—a leader with whom the president's relationship has been icy, to say the least—to respond to Obama and make the case against a deal with Iran. In announcing the invitation, the speaker specifically said he wanted the prime minister to address ‘the grave threats radical Islam and Iran pose to our security and way of life.’ *** ‘There is a serious threat that exists in the world, and the president last night kind of papered over it,’ Boehner told reporters Wednesday morning. He said he did not consult with the White House over the invitation to Netanyahu, noting that ‘the Congress can make this decision on its own.’...”

In closing his article in “The Atlantic,” Russell Berman noted that “Boehner insisted on Wednesday morning that he wasn't ‘poking anyone in the eye’ with his invitation to Netanyahu. But that's sure not how it looks.”

Here’s how the CNN team reported on the Netanyahu invitation in significant part, “... Boehner announced his invitation for Netanyahu to address Congress about Iran the day after President Obama pled with Congress during his State of the Union address to allow the talks to progress. *** Typically invitations to foreign leaders to address Congress are coordinated ahead of time with the White House, but congressional sources said the Speaker acted on his own.... Boehner's team had been discussing this invite with Netanyahu "for weeks," according to a House GOP leadership source, who added the reason driving the invitation was the Administration's negotiations with Iran. *** While they did not consult with the White House, this Republican aide said Boehner's office did inform the White House this morning that Netanyahu would be coming....” ( See “Netanyahu coming to Congress next month” by Dana Bash and Deirdre Walsh [with contributions by CNN’s Laura Koran and Jeremy Diamond], 1/21/15, CNN/ News/ cnn.com [http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/21/politics/benjamin-netanyahu-congress-invitation/]).

Obama’s VP says that “Yes, ... I’ll challenge Hillary” in appearance on a morning show following the State of the Union — Well, he almost said that....

Biden made his provocative comment this morning to George Stephanopolous on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” — Biden was doing several morning shows in the aftermath of Obama’s SOTUS

On Hillary’s behalf, WAPO takes an immediate drive-by potshot at the VP — just like they were some Delaware gunman in the night

Here’s what NBC News said about the ABC scoop: “Vice President Joe Biden said he ‘could do a good job’ running for president in 2016, and that ‘there’s a chance’ he would challenge former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. *** ‘To be blunt with you, I think I could do a good job. But that’s not my focus now,’ Biden told the ‘TODAY’ show’s Matt Lauer on Wednesday morning.... [S]everal GOP hopefuls and even Clinton, the likely Democratic front-runner, continue to mull decisions on whether or not to make a bid for the nation’s highest office. Through laughter, Biden on Wednesday told ABC News: ‘Yes, there’s a chance,’ he could challenge Clinton. Biden said that he doesn’t have to make a decision about running for president until this summer....” ( See ‘Biden: ‘I think I could do a good job’ in a 2016 presidential run” by Michele Richinick, 1/21/15,
NBC News/ msnbc.com [http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/biden-i-think-i-could-do-good-job-2016-presidential-run]).

Here is the exchange from GMA [as reported in the “Daily Caller” with a video link to GMA]:

“... STEPHANOPOLOUS: Mr. Vice President, as you know the presidential campaigns are heating up on both sides. Secretary Clinton is lining up staff and support, including many members of President Obama’s team. Our latest poll shows she’s the overwhelming choice of Democrats. Is there any chance you’re going to challenge her?

BIDEN: Yes, there’s a chance, but I haven’t made my mind up about that. We got a lot of work to do between now and then. There’s plenty of time. Look, the person who is going to end — and Secretary Clinton is really competent, capable person, and a friend — the person who is going to be the next president of the United States is the one that’s going to be able to articulate the clearest vision to the American people of where they’re going to take the country. … I think this is wide open on both sides....”
(See “Joe Biden: ‘Yes, There’s a Chance’ I’ll Challenge Hillary [with VIDEO link] by Al Weaver, 1/21/15, Daily Caller
[http://dailycaller.com/2015/01/21/joe-biden-yes-theres-a-chance-ill-challenge-hillary-video/]).

WASHINGTON POST QUICK TO ACT AS A CLINTON'S BODYGUARD AGAINST BIDEN’S THREAT

The Washington Post saw it as it’s duty to quickly pound the Vice President down. In a real drive-by piece, the WP's Philip Bump pointed out that “...what the polling shows is that Biden has essentially zero chance of winning....” (See “Joe Biden announces plans to consider that third-place Iowa run” by Philip Bump, 1/21/15, Washington Post/ The Fix [http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/01/21/joe-biden-announces-plans-to-consider-that-third-place-iowa-run/]). The whole take of this WAPO piece is that several polls have shown that Vice President Biden has little-to-no chance of blocking Hillary Clinton’s march to the 2016 Democratic Party nomination for President.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Louisiana Governor says that Radical Islamists are “trying to colonize” the United States and Britain, and that they must be stoppedAlso says that there should be no such thing as “no go zones” or enclaves where Muslims can practice Sharia Law in favor of the laws and culture of the country giving them a place to stay

Jindal made a bigger more controversial point: Radical Islam is a GRAVE THREAT and Muslim leaders must denounce the individuals that perpetrate acts of vience, not just the acts of violence themselves

“In an address to the Henry Jackson Society in London, Mr. Jindal said that ‘in the west, non-assimilationist Muslims establish enclaves and carry out as much of Shariah law as they can without regard for the laws of the democratic countries which provided them a new home.... It is startling to think that any country would allow, even unofficially, for a so called ‘no-go zone.... The idea that a free country would allow for specific areas of its country to operate in an autonomous way that is not free and is in direct opposition to its laws is hard to fathom.’...” (See “In London, Bobby Jindal slams prospect of Muslim ‘no-go zones’ ” by David Sherfinski, 1/18/15, Washington Times [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/19/in-london-jindal-slams-prospect-of-muslim-no-go-zo/][@washtimes on Twitter]).

BOBBY JINDAL IS A CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN THAT MIGHT SOON BE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT

Noting that he was a possible Republican candidate for President of the United States, the Washington Times report went on to further quote Mr. Jindal as follows: “And I’m also making a bigger and maybe even more controversial point: that radical Islam is a grave threat, that we need Muslim leaders to denounce the individuals, not just the acts of violence, and also that it is absolutely correct to insist on assimilation.... [Western societies have a right to] insist that people coming into our society, into our country adopt our values, adopt our language and understand they’re coming to become [Americans or Britons, and such assimilation to Western norms and integration in them] is so important if we want to prevent those ‘lone wolfs’ and to protect our society against this threat.”

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Centennial of "Birth of a Nation" — One hundred years of political showings of movies at the White House — “BIRTH OF A NATION” - 1915 — “SELMA” - 2015 Once again Obama wades into a national racial incident by pouring gasoline on the fire — this time over the “Oscars”Virtual segregation at Obama’s White House screening shows that George Wallace is winning NOT Martin Luther King

“Birth of a Nation” has been recognized as a milestone in American movie-making for almost a century — “Selma,” so far not so much. So, now it looks like that will be part of the ongoing “national debate” on problem of “racism” according to Obama and his top race relations adviser, Al Sharpton. I

What to do ? What to do ? — Have a showing of “Selma” at the White House — BRILLIANT !

In fact, right after the 2015 "Oscar" nominations were announced, Sharpton called the “Selma” snub “...an emergency....” and the White House quickly scheduled the screening of "Selma" with several of its principals in attendance — and nobody else. Didn't anybody tell the President that Hollywood has been one of his most loyal and servile support groups ? Not good enough ! No personal nominations for black actors ! Not enough diversity ! Sharpton's take must be the White House take: Everybody knows about Hollywood, "...the higher up you go, the whiter it gets..."

According to CNN, “It seems President Barack Obama is siding with the movie critics [Sharpton ?], not the Academy, when it comes to the movie "Selma." *** Obama [hosted] cast and crew members of the Martin Luther King biopic for a screening at the White House on Friday evening, one day after the critically acclaimed movie was snubbed as Oscar nominations were handed out ....” (See “'Selma' screening at White House on Friday” by Jeremy Diamond, CNN/ News - politics [http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/16/politics/selma-screening-wh/]). The other media coverage of the event on Friday was similar ( See e.g., “Obama holds White House screening of Oscar-snubbed film ‘Selma’ ” reported by Reuters, 1/16/15, Reuters [http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/16/us-usa-obama-selma-idUSKBN0KP2AZ20150116]). The Reuters report indicated that “The president was bringing in Oprah Winfrey, Common, David Oyelowo, Tim Roth [who played George Wallace in the movie] and other cast members for a screening of the film in the White House family theater. *** Another featured guest was Georgia Democratic Representative John Lewis, who was beaten by Alabama state troopers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma when he and Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights activists were marching to Montgomery in March 1965.”

Interestingly, most of the MSM coverage of this momentous White House movie event were filed before the event. The post-event stories contained no new or anecdotal material for a very good reason, “The screening itself was closed to the press....” (For post-event stories, see e.g., “Oprah Winfrey, Ava Duvernay attend White House screening of 'Selma' ” by Ted Johnson [in “Inside Track” by Gayle Fee], 1/17/15, Boston Herald/ BostonHerald.com - Inside Track
[http://www.bostonherald.com/inside_track/celebrity_news/2015/01/oprah_winfrey_ava_duvernay_attend_white_house_screening_of_selma]; also “NEWS/ President Barack Obama Hosts Selma Screening at the White House: Oprah Winfrey, Common & More Attend” by Bruna Nessif, 1/16/15, “E”/ Eonline.com [http://www.eonline.com/news/615923/president-barack-obama-hosts-selma-screening-at-the-white-house-oprah-winfrey-common-more-attend]).

ALL WHITE SCREENING AT WHITE HOUSE 1915 — ALMOST ALL BLACK SCREENING AT WHITE HOUSE 2015 ! ! ! IS THAT PROGRESS ? IS THAT WHAT MLK WANTED ?

So who really won since the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965, Martin Luther King who saw “...the Promised Land...” as “colored” and “white” together — or Alabama Governor George Wallace, who said “Segregation now, segregation forever...” ? Right now, there seems to be little to no doubt about it.

What if somebody threw a coup and nobody came ?

Did Obama foil a “Septembrist Revolt” of generals and admirals — and win re-election against a hobbled GOP at the same time ?

What role was played by the Republican “Loyal Opposition” and the Main Stream Media, including Fox, in all of it ?

Scary stuff, kids !

WHY HAVE THE PRESS AND REPUBLICANS STAYED MUM — OR NEARLY SO — ON THIS STUFF

As was said in "A Few Good Men" — "... You can't handle the truth !"
In spite of the efforts of a couple of Congressional Committees, and even the ongoing efforts by a Special Congressional Committee under Trey Gowdy late in 2014-2015, why has the GOP had so much trouble putting anything "together" on this whole Benghazi thing ? Why has the Fox News and Republican politics ever since and all about Benghazi made no sense at all ? Why in the fall of 2012 did all of GOP candidate Mitt Romney’s “false steps” on the Benghazi issue fall flat on their face ? Why did Obama’s numbers and his campaign get better after Benghazi ? Why has the REMOVAL of so many of the key players surrounding the whole Benghazi thing gone on with little comment and almost no public notice whatsoever ?

The GOP had become paralyzed by its consultants and managers. That was as true in 2012 as it is today. When it came to something that was arguably an attempted military coup against a sitting President, what could a “loyal opposition” do in the middle of a presidential campaign ? Use it against the President politically ? How loyal is that ? Besides, why risk the backlash ? NO ! When in doubt — Just stay out of it completely.

So why did Romney keep bringing Benghazi up ? Sometimes candidates can’t help themselves. Anyway, every time that Romney brought it up, he got burned — both by the media and by key Republicans. Also, Romney thought he could get away with telling only part of the story.

Maybe, anybody talking about Benghazi without mention of the coup and Obama’s counter-coup is only telling part of the story.

About Me

I formerly have commented on various political blogs concerning Republican politics. Although the focus of my political commentary has been on the Brooklyn GOP and other aspects of politics in Brooklyn, I have also posted commentary about national matters.
If you wish to contact Galewyn Massey directly, please, Email to galewynmasban@gmail.com